Produce such as vegetables and fruit are packed into paperboard cartons for shipment to the market. As soon as practical the produce is cooled to remove the field heat for better preservation. Normally a mixture of water and ice, commonly called liquid ice, is pumped into the cartons for depositing the ice over the produce to remove heat and maintain the contents at a temperature below 40 degrees Fahrenheit during shipment. The ice not only cools the produce but also slows evaporation from the fruit or vegetables.
One previous method of injecting the liquid ice into the carton is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,388 issued on Feb. 10, 1981 with Daniel Burns as Inventor and entitled Automatic Liquid Ice System. This system requires that each carton be individually filled with liquid ice by the insertion of a nozzle through the open top of the carton.
An improved method for chilling produce is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,380,908 issued on Apr. 26, 1982 with Richard V. Crabb, Jr. as Inventor and entitled Method and Apparatus for Chilling Produce. Described in this application is a system for injecting liquid ice into a stack of cartons containing produce. The cartons are stacked on a pallet and the loaded pallet is positioned between a pair of plates or frames having a plurality of fluid conduits therein through which is pumped liquid ice. These conduits align with the handhold openings in the cartons and liquid ice pumped through these conduits is forced into the cartons and over the produce. Thus the produce-filled cartons are moved into the icing station in pallet loads and are iced at one time, thereby saving both labor and time.
It is the purpose of the present invention to provide an improved chilling system having a self-contained apparatus for injecting coolant into cartons stacked on pallets.